It's When He Sees Her Smile
by kurlyq7419
Summary: A Modern Les Mis One-Shot of Enjolras and Eponine and snapshots of their life based on the quote: "Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."- The History of Love


"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."- The History of Love

**When he first sees her, he actually doesn't really **_**see**_** her. **

Enjolras is outside of his apartment waiting for Marius to arrive, and he's once again late. So as he sits there and curses that his phone was left once again at the café, and Marius saying he'd drop it by before his class, he decides to be proactive.

He takes out his notepad and scrawls some more ideas for the next meetings planning session. He knows the guys would probably laugh at him for not typing it up, but there is something so earthly about writing it all down with pen and paper, you can't get that powerful thrill you get from angrily scratching out failed ideas back pressing the backspace key. That's where he gets his rush, it's in the words and books and philosophers of old. He wants to change the world, one word at a time.

He is this close to leaving Marius behind and going off to library to pick up the books he had ordered. And then it happens, the pen jars across the paper, leaving a scar of ink, as something collides with his arm.

Not something, someone.

He turns to see who collided with him and there is this girl who gives him a look like she's ready to fight already, even though _she_ bumped into _him. _Marius is right behind her telling her with smirk "Ep! Watch were you're going, don't want to knock over our resident statue."

She has this laugh then, this throaty little chuckle and doesn't even acknowledge him, eyes focused solely on Marius. Gods above Enjolras just wants his phone back, and he says as much to Marius who fumbles in his pockets and hands it over.

The girl, _Ep...? _Does an about turn and mocks salute to him saying "Sir yes sir!" and just laughs a sarcastic laugh. Just as quickly she does this little twirl and just moseys on off leaving both the boys in her wake saying something about how her job is done and she has places to be and customers to hassle.

"_What _was that?" Enjolras asks incredulously to the boy next to him who is idly tapping away at the phone in his hand.

"Oh? Eponine?" Marius replies with a raise of his eyebrows like he doesn't quite understand his friend "She works at the café, actually she's the one who found your phone and tracked me down to give it back to you. We had a class together last semester and have kept in touch." Marius puts all of his attention towards Enjolras, putting his phone in his pocket and says, "Seriously? You don't remember her?"

Well then, Enjolras guesses, he'd have to thank her next time he saw her.

**The next time he sees her, he searches her out. **

He is at the café with the guys and they are discussing their plans for the evening and he closes his book when the waitress comes by to take their orders. He's hoping it's her so he can thank the crazy lady for saving his phone the other day, but it's some other blonde so he asks her if Eponine is working today because he has not seen her for the past week. She's in the back unpacking a shipment but she'll send her up front to the table after the waitress promises.

All of his friends stop their conversation and look at him with shocked faces and he just shrugs at them because it's none of their business if he couldn't get the girl from the other day out of his mind.

The guys jump all over it and Grantaire says it best "The end can come, Enjy has got a lady love in our dear ole' Ponnine".

And apparently Marius was right and all the guys knew this girl and he was just utterly blind.

But before they can go on further she comes bustling up and stops at their table and slings an arm over his chair. "I was told some angel of a boy was asking for me" she says with a wink and the table eruptes with laughter and she plops herself down right next to him saying. "My shift is done angel-boy so let's get your nose out of that book."

He has no idea what she has planned but as she picks the book up from his lap and reads the spine she looks up at him and says "you have _got _to be kidding.."

And somehow they spend the next couple of hours debating the pro's and con's of the free trade system and she doesn't back down once, and he has to admit that he is thoroughly impressed with this shadow of a girl.

**She starts looks to him for comfort, from the pain.**

Eponine doesn't know when it happens exactly, but it did. And on a day when she's pretty sure she has had the day from hell, and now its pouring rain, she just wants to give up and become one with her bed and forget about everything. Her fingers automatically type in his number without even a second thought as she waits under the awning of the café that evening.

He answers on the second ring and she immediately regrets calling him for some reason. So she remains silent on the other end. "Hello?" he asks again and she thinks that if she stays silent maybe he'll think she pocket dialed by mistake.

But there is something in his voice when he asks her "Eponine? Are you ok?" that breaks her a little more and a sob chokes it way out of her throat and she just says "No."

And he instructs her to tell him where she is and that he'll come pick her up. And for some reason her mind flashes back through the horrid events of the day and lead drops in her stomach at having to tell Enjolras what happened with her witnessing Marius and Cosette kissing in the booth as she waited their table and then having a volatile run in with her ex, both events practically back to back.

So she quickly backtracks, angry at herself for letting him aware of her tears and tells him "Never mind, it's ok I'll walk" and flips her phone shut successfully cutting him off mid reply. She makes her way out into the downpour trying to keep her head down and make it back to her apartment in one piece.

His car pulls up beside her on the street, minutes later, but she tucks her chin closer to her chest and marches on hoping to avoid a confrontation in the rain with him now. Her ego is already bruised enough, and she fears a lecture from him will just push her over the edge. He honks the horn twice rolls down the window and says "Come on Eponine, can't have you getting sick now."

He's right, and she knows that he knows it. So she stops and debates what's worse, getting sick, or giving into him?

She decides to get into the car. She's sopping wet, freezing cold, and generally hating the entire world right now. He turns the heat on full blast even though he himself is not cold, but just looking at her makes him feel the need to do so.

News Radio is coming through the speaker of his car and she pauses in her effort to get comfortable and not stick to the chair too much and levels him with a look.

She shakes her head and laughs at him like he's got two heads or something and simply says, "_No_" as she flips the switch to some station where some mournful singer laments about needing a hero.

A small smile graces her lips and she closes her eyes and leans back against the headrest "There. That's better." And she sighs like the weight of the world is resting upon her shoulders.

He doesn't press to find out what's the matter because he doesn't want to upset her now that it seems that she's calmed down a bit. They drive in silence and the drive takes a tad longer due to the weather. They pull up to the front of her apartment 10 minutes later and he stops the car and looks over at her. He honestly has no idea how she manages it, but she seems to have fallen asleep already in the seat next to him.

So he takes her back to his place because it's closer and the weather seems to be worsening by the minute. Besides, he thinks to himself, she shouldn't be alone again when she's sad. A snore escapes her as he turns the car back on.

**It's in the candlelight that he sees her for what she truly is to him.**

There is one night when everyone is over at his house because the café is closed for a holiday and they all are feeling that the mood calls for a celebration because the semester is finally over. There are drinks galore thanks to some secret, never-ending stash Grantaire must have hidden away somewhere, and Feuilly and Courfeyrac have been taking turns playing a variety of music throughout the evening.

It is just their closest friends the Les Amis as they so often jokingly call themselves, and everyone is just enjoying the evening together.

It's sometime around 1am and Jehan decides that it is candle time, and Marius and Cosette sway to the music noses touching both giggling like children in middle school. While the rest of the group lounges in various stages of falling asleep around the room. Enjolras looks over at Eponine from the seat he's been occupying for most of the night to see her reaction to it all, but she's not looking at the lovey-dovey couple. She's looking right at him.

So she rises from the loveseat by the bookshelf, stretching out like a cat waking up from a nap. And she pads over to him barefoot on the wooden floor, swaying slightly with the evenings drinks and somewhat with the music filling the room. There is a look in her eyes that he cannot place and it fills his stomach with warmth as he takes a swig of his drink, feeling suddenly anxious.

Her hand is reaching out to him and she says in a low voice "you sir, owe me a dance." He doesn't know if he actually said anything of the sort, but Eponine could be stubborn when she wanted to and before he realizes it he's rising to join her.

It is not at all like he sees with Marius and Cosette but, it's there in the awkward shuffle they do with her hands warm on his neck and her fingers absent mindedly playing with the curls at the nape that he comes to the conclusion. _This is it. This is what they speak about, when they said the flames of love._ Because even though he knows that there is music playing and there are others in the room, all he is aware of is the feeling of her fingers and the beating of his heart.

She does something then, with her inhibitions lowered by the drinks she's consumed, she sticks her nose right into the nook were his neck meets his shoulder and she slowly inhales. And this breathy content laugh brushes his neck leaving a trail of goose bumps behind.

"You always smell of a good book" she says as she nuzzles closer and his grip automatically tightens around her as he stills, not exactly sure what to do at this moment. And she _hmmms_ into his neck and he knows she won't remember it in the morning, and he doesn't know what to do with that thought.

That's when Combeferre bumps into the stereo making the song skip and they jump apart. And she smiles at him pokes his nose and says "Goodnight" as she scrunches up her face playfully and grabs his face and kisses him soundly on the lips pulls back and says "There," as if that's reason enough, and leaves him there agape as she goes back into the loveseat and calls it a night.

Once again she's out in a matter of minutes.

He himself gets no real sleep that night.

**In flowers and lace he sees his future in her face**

When he sees her walking down the aisle towards him on the first day of spring, he can't help but shake his head and think to himself, how wrong he had had it all those years ago when she came bumping into his life. He can't believe how blind he had been and how thankful he was that their stubbornness won out. Because he can rack his brain for all that its worth and he can't think of anything else he'd rather want in his life right now other than seeing that smile beaming on her face with her eyes locked on his.

Her hair is pinned back in something elaborate at Cosettes doing, with flowers intertwined with her curls. Her dress is lace that brushes her shoulders hugging her torso and falling from her hips, flowing like the breeze and she smiles at him through her tears, which she swore she wouldn't shed. But she looks over at Cosette blubbering and snapping away photos she knows that tears are an ok thing for a time like this.

And she hears Grantaire mutter something to Enjolras as she approaches them at the altar about how she owes him 20 dollars. And she laughs this bubbly laugh filled with emotion, because she never would have thought she would feel this warmth. This is her family, her friends who took her in and welcomed her with open arms, and this man who she loves with so much of her being. And '_oh god' _she thinks to herself,' _I'm crying again'. _

The ceremony is a beautiful event and they recite the vows they had written for each other. Eponine is blown away once more by his words and she swears she will never get over this feeling right now, and she pours her heart and soul into her sayings to him, bringing to mind the rain and candlelight, throwing a smirk his way as she mentions how she loves that to this day he _still smells like books. "Because yes," s_he says as she grips tightly at his hands_ "I remember every little thing with you Mon ami."_

So of course when the minister says 'you may kiss the bride' he feels like he wants to shower her in hundreds of kisses. And his friends let out a whoop of cheers and they both burst out laughing because _this is it. _

**She sees her husband in their daughters' eyes.**

She doesn't know how someone so small could look so thoughtful. But when Eponine holds her newborn daughter to her chest she laughs and looks over at him and simply tells him "you better watch out mister, this one is going to give you a run for your money."

And he has tears in his eyes and kisses her forehead and simply says "thank you" and she leans her head towards him relishing in this feeling and smiling because he's practically at a loss for words at the moment.

The baby lets out a cry and she laughs focusing her attention back to this little bundle in her arms "see?" she practically coo's as she rubs her thumb soothingly over the babies brow "She's already screaming for attention like her papa" and hums a lullaby about sunshine and grey skies and the baby calms almost instantly. She gives him this look that speaks volumes and closes her eyes and leans against his shoulder.

They lie in bed, the three of them and take the time to just _be _before all their friends descend on them because they all love a good celebration. Her eyes close first and he takes their daughter gently from her arms and looks her square in the eye "If we're going to be truthful here" he says with a mock seriousness to his voice "I think you have your mothers ways" and the babe gurgles and wraps her fingers around his hand and closes her eyes. And right then he knows that she'll have him wrapped around her finger forever.

"Mmm…Spinning tales to infants who can't speak back are we?" Eponine mumbles and she buries herself further in his side.

When the gang arrives later they find the three of them passed out on the bed and Cosette snaps a picture of the scene that will later grace the walls of the nursery.

**When she lays her eyes on him for the last time it's through a haze.**

They had insisted that she be brought home, and Jolly had helped them work everything out and comes by often to check on the machines that beep away in the room.

She doesn't feel any more pain, and is aware that it's probably not going to be much longer now. He is looking off somewhere with that serious furrowed brow she loves so much. He isn't aware that she is awake and gazing at him with this silly smile on her face. _This smile is for you_ she thinks. _This is your smile and no one else's, you are my saving grace. _She wants to reach out and smooth that brow and whisper soothing words to him one final time.

Their daughter enters the room now on her wobbly feet with Cossette not too far behind. "I'm sorry!" She whispers as an apology for the daughter "She's faster than you think." Enjolras nods to their friend, letting her know that it's more than ok for the child to be in the room.

"Come here baby girl" he says with his arms outstretched and her face splits into a huge smile and her chubby little cheeks shine with the gleam only babies have. She giggles this giggle that is so _her_ and Eponine feels that it'll be ok. This is their lasting mark on the world. It's a sign of their love and how it was their own little epic story that resulted in something so beautiful.

And when Victoria reaches up with her pudgy little fingers and touches Enjolras' cheek and simply says "Papa!" He cuddles her closer and buries his face in her hair.

With an almost reverent sound to his voice he brushes the dark curls on his baby girls head and says "I think it's time I tell you a story little lady..." and he closes his eyes and begins,

"Once upon a time there was a girl of shadows and a boy of stone, and fate would have it that they would meet. The girl of shadow was stronger than stone and she twirled around him until he turned to sand."

He looks up then, across the room and their eyes meet for the final time.

She laughs a quietly and says

"And the stone brought light to the shadows and she would shine for him forevermore."


End file.
